


Distortions in Reality

by BloodyAbattoir



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), The Inheritance Cycle - Christopher Paolini
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempted Murder, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Durzelle - Freeform, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, Kidnapping, Manipulation, Obsession, Rumbelle - Freeform, Stockholm Syndrome, True Love's Kiss, Unhealthy Relationships, but not really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-04-06 22:23:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19071877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodyAbattoir/pseuds/BloodyAbattoir
Summary: After the Fall, Galbatorix aims to extend his control to encompass the entire continent. He sends his Shade to scout far to the east of the Hadrac Desert, pitting him on a crash course that will intersect multiple lives, and have unintended side effects. Loyalties will be questioned, lives will be shattered, and everyone has their own agenda.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t know what this is supposed to be, and I’m not even sure how I came up with this. This is probably yet another take on the fact that these two share an actor, and I personally think it’s hilarious to see two ‘evil’ sorcerers antagonizing the everloving hell out of each other. This may be slightly spoilery for the latest season(s) of Once Upon A Time, and for the ending of Eragon, if for some reason you haven’t read/seen it. For the record, I don’t actually ship Durza and Belle as a couple. Personally, I don’t think he even has enough humanity left in him to even consider affection. However, in this, at least at the beginning, he’s much younger than in the series, and not as fed up with humanity. This particular chapter is set shortly after the fall, by about 20 years, and before Rumplestilskin becomes that Dark One. Assumes that both storylines run parallel, and that the Enchanted Forest/Dark Castle/etc. is far to the east of the Desert.

“ I seek to expand my kingdom.” Galbatorix began, addressing the 14 people standing in front of him.

 

An uneasy ripple went through the group. They barely held control over the current lands, living on the mainland as they were. Said control was held only through fear of torture, death, and loss. Yet still he wished to increase his boundaries? The Riders before, even in the thousands of members as they were, still mostly limited to the islands off the coast, and into the Elven forest, and the desert. They rarely, if ever, dared venture further than that. How far was the king planning to go, with less than two dozen Riders under his control?

 

None were willing to entertain the thought, much less voice their concerns.

 

“I seek to eventually hold sway over the entire continent.”

 

It was beyond madness. But truly, the king wasn’t sane. He hadn’t been sane since Jarnuvosk died. Even half-mad themselves from the banishing of the names, the Forsowrn could tell that this was a bad idea. It would appear that the only one among them who was not eyeing the king with a mix of fear and shock was the Shade, who stood apart from the rest.

 

“Despite what the Rebels may think, I am neither foolish, nor ignorant. I do not intend for this to be an instant gain, nor do I intend to rush into this blindly.”

 

A collective sigh of relief came from the group.

 

The King dismissed his followers. This topic would not be brought up again for quite a while. This new ruling class would go on to terrorize the country for the next two decades, setting the perfect stage for the Varden to appear.

 

Indeed, the king himself may have forgotten about the entire thing, until rumors began to trickle into the Empire, coming from the other side of the desert.

 

The Forsworn were once more called to order.


	2. Chapter 2

“There are rumors of dragons and eggs still in the land.” Galbatorix addressed his followers.

 

“How? We killed em all.” Morzan slurred out. He’d taken to drinking frequently after the fall, but he still had long periods of sobriety at this point, if you could consider a fortnight long.

 

“These are likely rumors. However, on the off chance that they are indeed rooted in fact, we should be prepared.”

 

It was true. The Forsworn and Galbatorix, despite having spent years exploring and trying to find every last secret the Riders had hidden, were unable to fully discover every last thing. It was moments like this that the insane king had a brief flare of sanity and wished that he had kept at least one of the Riders alive, if only to torture for information. If certain things had ever existed, it was likely that the relics had been destroyed in a desperate attempt to keep them from falling into the hands of the Forsworn. This would only make it harder for them to do their job, but not impossible.

 

“Rumors like this must be investigated. If there are other Riders out there, who were not involved with Vrael and his ilk, we will welcome them with open arms.”

 

A tense silence hung over the group. An increase in the Forsworn? Survivors of the Fall? What the hell was he thinking?

 

As if replying to the unheard question, Galbatorix said, “I will send a team to the Spine, in order to begin investigating these claims. For the time being, none of you are required to venture there.”

 

Privately, the king didn’t quite feel like jeopardizing one of his trusted seconds, risking them losing their dragons in a manner similar to him. He had thousands of soldiers he could spare. This thought in mind, he dismissed the Forsworn once more, and dispatched a large legion to scour the Spine for information.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone else think that perhaps it was a bit foolish of Galbatorix to ONLY save 3 eggs? Of the 3, we later figure out that two ended up being male dragons, and one was a female dragon. Even if we ignore the possibility of inbreeding in later generations weakening the genetics of the future dragons, more importantly, what if it had been 3 male dragons? Or 3 female dragons? Dumbass would've straight up wiped out the entire race by not considering basic probability here....

Within a month of his sending a large group of a soldiers, over a thousand strong, into the Spine, word returned that they were all dead. Upon hearing this, Galbatorix would make a mental point of not sending any more men to the Spine. Great evil lay over that place, and he wanted no further part in it.

The group that he sent east would fare similarly, most dying in the crossing of the Hadrac Desert, and those who had made it into the forest on the other side would never return. The insane king decided that perhaps these explorations were best shelved, at least for now.

30 years later, he would relent, after the death of one of his precious Riders.

Quietly, he made plans, sending away his Shade, in a desperate bid to get to the bottom of the rumors. A troop of soldiers would attract attention, but a single man would likely go unnoticed.

Durza would spend several years in the Spine, observing the terrain, and attempting to track down whatever dragons or eggs still lay undiscovered in that cursed place. When he returned, he would return older, but not quite as jaded as he would eventually become, carrying a single emerald green egg, to the news that another of the Forsworn had committed suicide.

He related his findings to the king, giving special attention to the Urgal tribes he found there, each seemingly at war with the others.

As soon as this mission briefing was completed, he would be sent off to develop new poisons. In the intervening years, Galbatorix would regale his Riders with the mixed news. They had indeed discovered an egg, but they would not be able to welcome a new rider for many more years. Instead, they would have to wait until memories of the Fall had vanished from the memories of the citizens, until the last person who had lived under the last ruling class had died, and none knew of the Forsworn’s evil.

Life would continue as normal, and reality would claim several more of the Forsworn, either through magical misadventure, or suicide.


	4. Chapter 4

By the time that Galbatorix called on the Shade again, nearly 20 years later, the Forsworn would number less than a half-dozen. This time, the unsavory creature was charged with crossing the Desert, and exploring the forests on the other side.

 

The flora and fauna here were different, and every so often, he would spirit away a sample or two, sending it back to the king to entertain himself. They were interesting, if not necessarily useful.

 

The creature tripped over the protruding root of a tree, catching himself mere moments before he fell flat on his face. He yanked his foot free, cursing violently under his breath. For all the months that he had spent in this thrice-damned forest, he’d encountered no dragons, no eggs, not even a single living soul with half a brain. If all he encountered was a new type of plant every other week, then this journey had all been for nothing.

 

In a foul mood, he continued, making his way through the forest. Why did he have to get picked for this? Why did the remnants of the Dragon Riders have to be a group of drunk and insane fools?

 

The shadows were growing longer as the sun sank toward the horizon, and he had to make a decision. Continue to wander around the forest in the dark, which was hardly a problem with enhanced vision, or try to get mostly unneeded sleep.

 

Before he could make that decision however, something flashed through the forest maybe a mile or two ahead of him, interrupting his thoughts. He darted toward it, curious. There, again, he saw something. Coming a bit closer, he could distinguish it as a piece of cloth, perhaps someone’s garment. Whatever it was, it wasn’t moving very quickly.

 

Momentarily distracted, the Shade didn’t think to look where he placed his feet, and managed to crunch a small twig under his boot. In the quietness of the woods, it rang out as loud as a gunshot.

 

He froze instantly, mentally cursing his stupidity. For all he knew, he could’ve just alerted an army to his presence with one small twig. On one hand, if anyone had heard it, they were likely to flee. That wouldn’t be an issue, as he wasn’t desperate for company. In fact, it'd be almost welcome, as he rather hated social interaction. On the other hand, if it were an enemy, they could attack, something that he wasn’t keen on either.

 

A moment later, the silence was broken once more, this time, by a young girl’s voice, asking, “Hello? Is there anyone there?”

 

He held his breath, peering around a tree trunk. Nothing moved toward, or away from him, and he took this a good sign, creeping closer to the place where he had last seen whoever it was in the forest with him. Rounding another, larger tree, he came face to face with a young girl, maybe 12 or 13 at most. There was a short pause of confusion and shock, before she asked, “Who are you?”

 

That set him off. He turned and charged through the forest, uncaring of the amount of noise he made, ignoring her calling after him, “You don’t need to be afraid!”

 

He did not run out of fear. At least, not the conventional sort of fear. One part of him didn’t quite know why he ran from her. She was just a little girl, and likely knew nothing about magic, much less how to use it. If he so desired, he could’ve ended her very existence with a single word.

 

 In the moment when their eyes had met, he didn’t feel capable, or even willing to kill her. For those few seconds, instead of feeling like the violent Shade that he was, that he had been as far as he could remember, he felt peculiar, as if he were coming apart at the seams. For the moment, his mind flooded with memories that were his, yet were not, memories of a life in an unforgiving desert as a young boy who had lost everything.

 

He couldn’t understand it, any of it, and it both scared and enraged him. If it were magic that this girl had worked on him (against him?), it was like nothing that he had ever encountered before. In that moment, he decided that he would leave this place, as quickly as inhumanly possible, never to set foot here again. He would make his way back to the Empire, a red egg in hand, rarely stopping for food or sleep, even when he needed it.

 

He would arrive to find that he had been gone for much longer than he had thought, His returning with an egg, however, more than made up for the fact that he had spent years lost in the forests to the east. However, upon his arrival, he would also find that he was the last of Galbatorix’s servants, Morzan, the first and last of the Forsworn being dead shortly before he arrived, leaving the child he had had with a human woman behind. The boy was only a few years old, but already bore a strong resemblance to his father. 

 

The eggs, red and green, would stay guarded in a safe-room for several more years, as Galbatorix plotted the best way to once more hold sway over a small order of Riders. The Shade, meanwhile, was left to his own devices, and his own fortress far to the north. He didn’t mind. In fact, he preferred it that way.

 

He kept himself busy, nearly overworked between the torture of prisoners and magical research. He had to keep busy, otherwise, he would find his mind wandering, always drawn back to the memory of a pair of eyes that belonged to a girl that he had never even spoken to. By all rights, she should mean nothing to him. He was not a man anymore, and hadn’t been in centuries. He did not, could not feel love, or even lust. Yet here he was, with a growing obsession.

 

It made no sense, not any logical sense, anyway. Illogically speaking, he craved the feeling of calm, the freedom from the evil spirits that haunted him, even if only for a short period of time. Something told him that simply to keep her in his vicinity, even If they did not interact, would certainly be enough to accomplish this. Logically, he questioned how he could crave a feeling that he had never experienced aside from a brief moment, desire something that he never knew, wish for memories that weren’t his.

 

He ignored that feeling as much as he physically and mentally could. Yet every so often, he would catch himself waking from a dream of her, or scrying her in a mirror. For the most part, he could see nothing of her surroundings, not that he particularly cared. Simply to see her was enough, at least for the time being. 

 

He would tell none of his growing obsession with this girl, nor of his newfound pastime of spying on her. To be entirely fair, he wouldn't have to, as a particular genie trapped in a magic mirror, free to travel through mirrors at will, would catch wind of this, and without giving himself away, quietly report his findings back to the Evil Queen.

 

The stage had been set for a most interesting play.


End file.
